Loopholes
by Crazyfangirl23
Summary: Moments cut from episodes.
1. Chapter 1 - I Can't Lose You

Loopholes

Clara could always tell something was bothering him. She could tell instantly by the look of his face, the way his posture slumped in small defeat and his silence was one hardly ever met in any other times. His eyebrows were creased, eyes looking out to the sky. Ashildr disrupted them, before she could say anything else. She observed the way she was looking at the Doctor, like he was someone she already trusted. Clara smiled at him when she left, apologising for her interruption. Clara found it slightly bemusing. Ashildr probably thought they were having a deep and private conversation. But then, by that look on his face, perhaps they were.

'You've made an impact there.' She tried, smiling even though he didn't take notice.

'Stop it.' He replied, quick to make his dismissals. She didn't understand why, but knew there was something he recognised, something he was hiding from her. She had realised all too well from the first time they saw her.

'She's nice,' she defended, looking over to the retreating figure, 'fight you for her.'

Clara knew she was a little jealous, but the Doctor once again didn't respond to her antics.

Finally looking over at her, his words were a little more than sharp. 'The human race, you're obsessed! You all need to get a hobby.'

Clara sighed inaudibly. It was all she could do not to slap him every time he brought up the subject.

'I've got a hobby,' she said, her tone inflicted with annoyance but her mind still wondering how much he really did care. 'It's you, by the way.'

She raised her head to look at him again, her words small but impacting him greatly. He already knew she was always going to give him that answer, that he was her hobby and nothing else. But for the life of him he couldn't understand and for someone so clever Clara couldn't believe how ignorant he could be sometimes.

'Well, get a new one.' He answered stiffly, his tone telling her everything she needed to know. He wasn't good enough, he was too dangerous. But Clara never cared.

'Not this.' She complained, her voice becoming slightly angrier.

'Tomorrow, it's going to be a bloodbath.' He explained, only half making eye contact, like he was ashamed and afraid. Ashamed and afraid for only one human.

'Don't even ask.' She said firmly.

'These people all died hundreds of years before you were born.'

Now he was trying to scare her. She felt outraged at his attempts to keep trying to protect her when she didn't need protecting. She knew the risks as well as he did, and nothing was going to stop her from doing anything she damn well wanted, even if it was too reckless.

'I'm not running.'

'I have a duty of care.'

Looking into his eyes she could tell he meant it, he meant it every time. That phrase had started to irritate her a long time ago and the Doctor kept repeating it at all the times she didn't want to hear it. He cared too much about her, which was why it made her sad, and angry.

'No, you don't, because I never asked for that!'

'Every time we do something like this, I keep thinking, what if something happens to you?' He said, his face already traced with hurt like he'd already lost her. Clara could hardly bear to see him like that, so concerned over her well-being it was stopping him from saving an entire village.

'Well, stop thinking about me and start thinking about them, because you're missing something.' She accused.

He looked confused at the idea of even abandoning thoughts of her safety from his mind.

'What?'

'How you're going to win,' she emphasised, delighting in the spark that reignited on his face at her words, 'you always miss it, right up to the last minute. So put down your sword, stop playing soldier and look for it. Start winning, Doctor. It's what you're good at.'

She left him reflecting on it, knowing that at some point it would click. She was still mildly flattered by his unadulterated fear of her death and the lengths of which he was looking out for her but she couldn't fathom how the Doctor could really think only of her when the whole town was at stake. She knew she was special to him, a lot more than everyone else but being that naive was something she didn't want to see in the Doctor anymore. Unfortunately, something was telling her it certainly wouldn't be the last time he said it.

His voice suddenly interrupted her and she turned round to look back at him. He had followed her back inside after a few moments of deliberation and it looked like he had even ran to her.

'Clara,' he said again, 'don't always take it as such a bad thing.'

'What?'

'Being my first priority. I do have a duty of care for you, Clara.'

'I know that. But you need to start being the Doctor around here. We all need it.'

'I will,' he stepped forward, 'I'm not going to abandon this village. But it's hard to come up with another way.' He said, slipping his arms round her waist and moving closer to her.

'I understand.' She said softly. The whole hall was empty now and the food devoured, and the sudden quietness of the place made it feel like they were alone in the whole town. His eyes gazed into hers, studying her face.

'You just have to find it.' Clara continued.

He nodded. 'You know that fighting will lead to our deaths. It won't work. I'm just...' His eyes flicked around, trying to find the right words, 'concerned that if I don't come up with something else I'll lose everyone. Including you.'

She smiled, her hands reaching up to rifle through his hair, tucking curls behind his ears and ruffling it lightly at the nape of his neck.

'Don't worry about me,' she repeated, 'worry about losing. Find a solution. I always have faith that you will.'

'And that can be dangerous,' he chided her, 'we can't always fix things-'

'I know,' she interjected, holding a finger to his lips, 'but we will.'

He gave her one of his sad smirks, his hands placing themselves over the top of her own, that were snaked round his own waist.

'Whatever problems I face, I always have you to keep me right, Clara Oswald.'

She smiled. 'I'll never stop keeping you right.'

'I hope so.'

'Go find Ashildr, go get some inspiration. Time is ticking, Doctor.'

He nodded. 'Alright.'

She gave him an encouraging smile as he slipped away from her embrace and walked out through the open doors. She watched his figure recede and hoped he would come to his senses.


	2. Chapter 2 - Another Adventure

They stood there, rejoicing in their success of saving another civilisation, escaping the wrath of adversaries. Clara had danced round the TARDIS, he had smiled at her with that knowing twinkle in his eye.

'So, where to next? Forward, backward, up in space, down in space, wherever you want.'

'That's good to hear,' she laughed, 'your choice nearly got us killed.'

'Ah, but we survived, did we not?'

'We always do.' She replied quietly.

'You never cease to amaze me, Clara Oswald. Tell me, how exactly did you sneak through their defence?'

'Why would you want to know?' She teased, although immensely flattered by his kind words. She moved another step toward him.

'Well, even I have to admit their security is very tight,' he said, 'which is saying something.'

She shook her head at him, leaning against the console, looking up to the time rotors ready and waiting to spin them through the vortex.

'Have any suggestions?' She turned to him.

He cocked an eyebrow. 'Really? You can't think of anything? The whole of time and space and you don't know where to go next.'

'Just give me some places and planets, will you.'

He was hardly an inch away from her, staring down into her brown, curious eyes.

'Well...the 1920's in America were quite a decade. Or 37th century Belgium, if you like chocolate covered A.I or something like that. We could even go to the planet with five thousand oceans.'

'Wow, that's a lot of water,' she deliberated, then grinned, 'be sure to get out your swimming trunks, Doctor.'

He smiled, 'fine then. Oceans it is.' He pulled down the lever, 'I think they hold the most remarkable aquatic creatures in the universe. And especially home to the ghost fish.'

'The ghost fish?' She giggled.

'Dangerous but friendly, if that helps. Their skin is transparent and from the tint of the water they're a sort of...pale greyish colour.'

'But there is some land, right?'

'Oh yes, there's the island where you can buy snorkels and fridge magnets with ice creams on them. Takes up 5% of the whole planet.'

'So, if we drown? '

'We won't drown.' He reassured, shaking her shoulders comically.

'I've heard that one before,' she laughed, 'we won't get captured, we won't have to convince them, we won't have to try hard.'

'Do you want to go or not?' He asked.

She slowly nodded, 'hell yes.'

The TARDIS landed with a soft thud, and the Doctor raised his eyebrows excitedly at Clara. He proceeded to the doors, taking the handle.

'Welcome to the vast oceans of-'

Clara never got to find out the planets name because when he jerked the doors open a flood of water rushed in and drenched themselves and the interior. He shut it closed before observing the console room, dripping wet with clear water. Even a fish was flopping on the floor, one that had a rainbow tail and pearlescent scales.

'Doctor!' Clara shouted, and his eyes suddenly averted to her. She was soaked from head to toe, as was he, and for a moment she only stared at him.

'5% of the whole planet, I should have guessed you'd land right in the middle of the ocean.'

'Well, you know how the TARDIS likes to land us into trouble.'

Clara only raised her eyebrows and a silence ensued, until both of them couldn't hide their smiles and burst into laughter. She came bounding up to him, still giggling like a schoolgirl and studying how wet both of them were. Their eyes met in shock when they finally realised what they'd done. Without even registering what they were doing, Clara had leaned up on tiptoe and kissed him. Not properly, but definitely longer than a peck. It had been heated while it passed and the Doctor could still feel the imprint of her lips on his. They gazed at each other in surprise. The Doctor hadn't even recognised he had kissed her until she drew away, and by the look on her face he knew she didn't either. She was still so close to him, distracting him, but shockingly he was the first to move.

'We should, uhm, aim for land now.' He said, trying to distill the tension between them although he noticed too late his voice had gone far deeper than expected and even took on a husky tone quite alien to him. He really shouldn't have spoken as it was clear indication that it had affected him, probably more than it should have.

'Yeah, it's no good being stuck in the middle of the sea.'

He shook his head slowly, unable to take his eyes off her. And then she smiled. That beautiful, heartwarming smile that made everything alright again. He returned it, knowing all too well the effects of her smiles being able to bring masterminds to their knees.

'What are you waiting for?' She asked, traces of laughter still tainting her words. He raised one eyebrow and pulled the lever.


	3. Chapter 3 - America's Diner

When The Doctor walked into the American 50's diner, his first thought was that it was unusually empty. He perused a menu, rubbing his hands together in excitement at all the delicious foods and drinks displayed in there. Why wouldn't anyone want to come to this diner? He thought, looking around at the fifties memorabilia on the wall. It was all very fitting, but as he glanced back outside through the glass doors he came to his conclusion. He imagined not many people lived close enough to the desert. Then, why the location? It seemed as if it was chosen deliberately...

Suddenly he heard girlish giggles coming from behind a large portrait of Elvis, and wondered if it was the kitchen beyond, perhaps.

A female voice called to the other, still giggling and she opened the door and came behind the counter, her cheeks flushed and her hair mussed up somewhat.

'Hi, what can I help you with?' She smiled.

As he looked at her a feeling of scary recognition grew in his stomach, and yet he knew he had never met her before, even with his thousand year old brain he would have remembered someone like her. Large, brown eyes, roundish face, lips still smiling but hiding an undertone of bemusement and...what was that in her eyes? Was it sadness?

Snapping back from his daze, he glanced at a menu as he took a seat in a round chair, and ordered the first thing he saw.

'Uhm, uh just lemonade please.'

She smirked, making a noise of amusement.

'You seem very cheerful.'

'Oh, I am,' she replied, her accent surprisingly not American but English, 'lemonade seems very popular among you.'

'Oh, really?' He said, slightly confused by her answer, 'Why would you build a diner in the middle of a desert? You must have known popularity was going to be scarce.'

'Of course,' she said, handing him his drink and sitting down opposite him, 'we travel a lot. This is just gaining a little extra money.'

'I should've known anyway. You're not from here.' He said, sipping up the cold liquid with a smile and noting suddenly she had a Blackpool accent.

'Neither are you.'

He laughed. 'No, I'm from far away.'

'You're so young.' She whispered, gazing into his eyes, but before the Doctor could answer she changed the subject.

'What made you come here?' She asked, her hand resting on her cheek. He still had time. He could tell her some stories.

'A picnic.'

'A picnic?'

'Yep. Down Lake Silencio with my friends.'

'Ah, you're friends. Do they travel with you?'

'Well, Amy's been my travelling companion with me for a long time now, and then her husband Rory joined and occasionally River will appear too. She travels a lot, and sometimes we meet in exactly the same places.'

'Seems magical.'

'Oh, it is. Very magical. What about you?' He asked.

'I travel with Ashildr. She's a bit like my companion too.'

At that moment the Elvis door opened and a head poked out, concealing everything behind her.

'Did you call my name, Clara?'

The waitress laughed, 'no, just get back to dealing with Jack.'

She disappeared, but again the Doctor couldn't shake off the feeling that he also recognised Ashildr.

'Jack. I know a Jack.'

'Really? Hopefully he's not as annoying as ours.'

'No, actually he's exactly that.'

A moment of silence made him deliberate what to say, as the image of Clara before him pressed upon his mind almost painfully. Even her name started to ring unfamiliar bells.

'Do I know you?' He asked finally, 'you and Ashildr, have we met before?'

'No,' she said, but her eyes looked almost wet with tears and her smile now a forced one, 'I'm sure I would have remembered if we had.' She looked down at the counter to avoid eye contact.

'You really do seem familiar, yet you're a stranger to me. Maybe we'll meet each other again sometime in the future.'

Those words seemed to make her bite her lip in the act of saying something and it took some time for her to look him in the eyes.

'Well, you know what they say about premonition. It's just remembering in the wrong direction.'

'Yes! Yes,' he said, his finger pointing at her and a smile reappearing on her lips, 'good, yes. That's like something I would say.'

'Take it from me, then.' She grinned.

The more he looked at her the more he thought maybe they would meet in another regeneration. It seemed the only possible explanation.

'Well, my friends will be coming in a bit.' He said, noticing Clara glancing down at his golden wristwatch with a smirk.

'I love your watch.' She said.

'Thank you. It's quite the rare specimen.'

'I can see that.'

He stood up from the stool, fixing his bow tie in place and putting on his stetson, to which Clara giggled sadly at. He couldn't help feel the constant frustration at not knowing who she was, especially if she did.

'You definitely look the part now.' She said.

'Yes, I'm trying to. After all, I'm going to try and achieve something impossible.'

'Impossible, really?'

'Yes! Call me the impossible man! No, no, don't actually, that's a terrible name.'

'Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?' She asked. He raised nonexistent eyebrows at her question but then gave her one of his secretive smiles.

'Call me The Doctor.'

She raised her own in amusement. 'Actually, I think I'll call you Chin Boy.'

His face screwed up for a minute but then settled to another smile.

'Well, I'll be back in a minute with my friends.'

'You have fun.'

'You too. Geronimo!' He shouted, and raced out the door.

Clara shook her head at him as he left. Still the same old, silly Doctor, with his bow ties and watches and joyful, puppy-like smiles. Seeing him so young, even before she had met him, was surreal after she had spent so many years looking into the eyes of a man who had seen so much more than this Doctor had, right then and now. She recalled her silver haired Doctor looking round the diner, mistaking her for Amy and Rory in his memory. But in truth she had been there all along. She smiled when he had said 'impossible man.' It had brought back a flood of so many memories. Just seeing him as his former self had been a tear-jerking experience like the first time she had pretended to be a foreign waitress, but like both times she had managed to bring it together. Clara realised again that Ashildr poking her head through the he door unexpectedly had also caused him to recognise her, which was probably where the memory of her had stemmed from in the first place when they had visited the Viking village.

Half an hour or less had passed, and the Doctor walked back into the diner, where his Amy, Rory and River were sitting, all clutching envelopes of invitation in their hands. She saw him look at her briefly before settling down in the chairs, and Clara watched the whole exchange with a bittersweet grin. But she knew, however, better than anyone; that all good things come to those who wait.


	4. Chapter 4 - His Saviour

'Doctor.' She whispered, uttered, her cheeks pinks and wet with streaming tears. Her large brown eyes were hard to resist and he bounded over to her in one swift movement. The way she had said his name, so desperately, on a breath, half relief and half still terrified about what could have happened made him feel helpless. His own eyes filled with regret and anger, his trembling hands sliding through the casing to caress her cheeks, wiping away the tears, staring at her marked face of shock. The ordeal she must have been put through, seeing him through that eyes talk, brandishing a gun right in front of her, like he was actually going to pull the trigger. If he had been in Clara's position, he was sure he'd never shake that horrible image of her threatening to kill her.

'I'm sorry Clara, I'm so sorry!' He whispered, his own face marked with pain. He fiddled with the wires inserted in her forehead, trying to free them without hurting her. She stopped crying, her breath returning back to normal. He had felt her tiny heart beat and thump beneath her chest, her eyes still distressed. She still said nothing, but didn't need to. He didn't expect her too, either. She was most likely speechless. As Missy's sharp voice pricked his ears rage bubbled in the pit of his stomach, growing and growing until it affected his very voice.

'This is why I gave her to you in the first place, to make you see. The friend inside the enemy, the enemy inside the friend.'

Her words sparked the memory of his younger self, talking to Clara over the phone, talking about wifi. He recalled Missy telling him it had been her all along, the woman in the shop that Clara had gotten his number from. The fact she had had complete control over that fate made him angry, more so than other times.

Missy was a trickster, she had nearly made him kill the one person he loved more in the world. She was evil and annoying and... His friend. That was why he gave her mercy. He told her to run.

'Missy, run.' His voice filled with caution and warning, unable to look at her but his tone so forceful it let her know he wasn't going to take anymore of her jibes.

'Everyone's a bit of both. Everyone's a hybrid.' Again, her voice cut across, wouldn't go away, and pressed his mind further. She knew full well he knew about the existence of the hybrid, and hinting at it didn't give him anymore confidence than Clara's crying did. He knew she was talking about Clara there too, but chose to ignore it. That could all come later; right now, all he wanted was for Clara to be safe.

'I said, run.' He warned once more, his voice growing more impatient with each second she still stood there. Having recognised he was in no way in the mood for her patronising games she sauntered slowly away, but not before leaving him with another thought.

'It wasn't me who ran, Doctor. That was always you.'

It filled his mind with a dread, a memory of leaving Gallifrey in his stolen TARDIS, and running headlong into life after life after life until this was where he was now, with Clara Oswald.

Her footsteps surely receded, and then he turned his attention back to Clara, her hands free and suddenly gripping his shoulders.

'Doctor, how do I get out?' She asked. Her voice was no longer cracked, but still weak.

He moved closer to her, his eyes conveying as much newfound trust as he could.

'Put your arms round my neck. I'll have to lift you out of there. You're wired in tight, so it might hurt, okay?' He said, quickly brushing his thumb over her cheek. She nodded, clinging onto him tight as he loosened the wires as much as he could and pulled her legs out, as hard as he could. They sprang free, immediately wrapping round his waist. He almost flew backward with Clara still in his arms, the force of the impact so strong it had made him stumble against the wall. Thankfully, his feet had planted themselves firmly to the floor so they didn't fall and Clara's face had buried itself in the crook of his shoulder.

For a moment they stayed like that, hugging each other tightly, Clara's body still wrapped around him. His shaky hand coming up to gently brush her hair and hold on tighter.

'It didn't hurt you, did it?' He asked.

'No.' She whispered quietly, her face lifting from his shoulder to look at him.

'I'm sorry, Clara.' He apologised again, 'I can't imagine how painful it must have been to see me like that, I...I was nearly tempted by Missy and I...I'll never do that to you, again. I promise.'

She nodded. 'I know.' Her lips leaned in to touch his briefly, taking his breath away. When she finally let go he didn't open his eyes until he felt Clara's palm against his cheek.

'Now, let's get these Daleks.' She said determinedly.

He smiled, nodding. 'They deserve to pay for what they've done to you.'

He put Clara down, and took her hand. She lead the way, pulling him toward the corridor and to the Daleks. It would have to take infinitely more than that to make him betray Clara Oswald.


	5. Chapter 5 - Queen Clara

This is for the Victoria fans, and of the theory regarding Victoria and Clara.

Queen Clara

From the first time she saw him, she knew he was likeable. Well presented, scrubbed up, a smile a charming one to behold. He had become her private advisor, her prime minister, her friend. But also, the one that never existed. She knew that inside the waistcoat of the long tailcoat there was a fob watch. No particular or ordinary one, either. One that held power and knowledge beyond any technology from any time or world, and especially in 1838. She sat gingerly on the throne, staring straight ahead of her though vastly aware of her subjects. Her heart was nervous but immensely proud as the crown was balanced precariously on her head, trying to maintain her dignity and posture. It felt as if she were juggling the very object. This was something she ought to write in her diary later. The whole life-changing shift of the day where she would become the most important woman in England. She gripped the orb and sceptre tightly as she fed the whole court of her coronation oath, satisfied that she had learnt it well enough for it not to come out forced. But there she was; a queen, a monarch. It felt all too overwhelming but the whole excitement of the day seemed to be playing a part in her confidence too. She glanced a look at Lord M, who was watching her with that endearingly encouraging smile that lead her on toward the crowd. Hundreds and hundreds of people were all crowding round the walls of the palace, cheering at her as she presented herself as the newly queen. When she cane back, retreated to her quarters, he was there, as he always should be. Lord M standing there still with a proud smile on his face making her feel worthy of the crown. She smiled in return when he bent down to kiss her hand. She glimpsed the pocket watch from inside his waistcoat and hid another smile.

•••

She flipped through her diaries, pages covered with ink that beheld words of all the feelings she felt and all the things that had happened worth noting down. There were a lot of entries to peruse, but she always seemed to come back to the pages filled with her dreams, the ones she had managed to write about in great detail before they had faded away. And all sorts of illustrations to accompany them. One most prominent of a young woman named Clara, resembling herself, seemingly to be falling. A likeness to which that had always struck her as odd. Though her eyes were brown they were also just as fulfilled as hers, the same features in all the right places. She had used her watercolours beneficially for the task of drawing her, falling into what seemed like a bottomless, murky pit. Such strange, repetitive dreams had always been of interest to her. The same dream that had fulfilled her mind with all sorts of fanciful theories. Most clearly to make out, but just as confusing, was the young brown-eyed woman splitting, but splitting all over space, landing in different places and of different births. She always dreamt she was one - an echo. Queen Victoria, a copy of some other woman! Even though completely preposterous it did explain why she took to Lord M's fob watch so. She admired it, was fond of it, and had never mentioned it to him before in the case of finding her devout with madness. Yet in these sacred dreams he was an alien. When she first became conscious of what the dream was telling her she had hardly believed any such thing could happen in reality or dreams. But Lord M was an alien that no one remembered, no one knew of. The fob watch held the identity of his true self, yet the object was closed shut and ruthlessly remained that way, which explained why he never became the man she had known in her dreams as 'The Doctor.' She knew only on account of asking it's contents to Lord M, and in response only tried and failed to prise the lid from its case. And that was why she always looked at his fob watch in a peculiar way. Of course, none of it was real, just her imagination running too wild for her own good.

•••

Yet when she finally met the man known as The Doctor in the darker ages of her life, she knew that somehow all the dreams of her youth had become true, maybe always had been true. She had marvelled at his knowledge and his charm, not so dissimilar from Lord M's wittiness. He had in tow a companion of dry and odd tastes in finery, her clothes that of a newborn babe's. She had appeared extraordinarily out of place but she warmed to her inevitably. Her name was Rose. She would and never could forget that, forget the whole day itself with it's peril. She hadn't been amused and told them of that herself but in many ways she was only fulfilling what her dreams had been telling her from the start. Even when establishing Torchwood, the name had certainly cropped up in her memory of long forgotten dreams. The Doctor and Rose. How she had waited for such an exciting day to come, especially since her poor, dear Albert.

•••

She didn't have long to go, she knew that. Her thoughts turned over the years like quicksand, turning back time to the day of her announcement, her coronation, her marriage to Albert, their nine children. Yet the one memory she couldn't let go of was of her precious Lord M, who had guided her throughout her early years of being queen and that she could never forget. The Doctor and Rose too, although that was a revelation in itself and had ordered the both of them banished, if she recalled correctly. She coughed violently, her vision going hazy. Yet before her death, before even her darling son and soon to be successor was there by her side with her grandson Wilhelm, there had been a visitor. A strange man with a strange box that materialised in her chambers. Although her eyesight was sorely poor enough, she could make out the face of The Doctor with his wild hair, not a single day older than the day they had met. His colourful companion Rose was no longer with him, and he seemed solemn but bursting with the information he soon told her and that of which she took to her heavily awaited grave.

'As I recall, I banished you.'

'Indeed you did, your majesty. But there is something you should know before you inevitably...' He let the sentence hang in the air as if afraid of her own fate more than she was. She could hardly speak now, and let him proceed, but what came next nearly sent her to heaven quicker than expected from the madness he spoke of.

He told her exactly what she had known in the back of her mind, all along, where the abandoned dreams had laid all these years, untouched.

Her Lord M had indeed been an alien, one that had no knowledge of being so, and hence had never opened the fob watch. She herself, as The Doctor described, was very nearly his 'companion.' Although she didn't care for the term much in regards to her superiority she had had over him she let the term pass. But essentially he told her of how her dreams had always been true, how she indeed was an 'echo' of a modern woman named Clara Oswald, who certainly had split herself into millions of copies to protect her Doctors from all over time and space. The information the trench coated man gave her almost lead her to death in that moment, but she managed to contain the questionable hysteria.

'I shall have to retire, your majesty,' he retreated, 'I have a journey to fulfil.' He said, his voice still bringing up the smooth voice of her Lord M. He reached the doors of his tall blue box, looking over to her on her deathbed. 'I was sent here by my future self to tell you this,' he said, 'I've met the young Clara you are of transcendence from, and believe me you could do a lot worse to be somebody's echo.' He seemed to smile sadly, his face like an angel. 'Only thing is, I don't want to go.' He admitted, eyes baleful but still very young. Victoria managed to build up the words to speak. 'Don't we all.' She croaked, and with another sorrowful smirk he stepped inside his box and disappeared again. She thought that maybe she had dreamt the whole ordeal, as could have been the case in her youth. Yet she knew it had been real when her son and grandson stepped in, crowding round her deathbed. It took an immeasurable amount of time but she could finally feel the warm release of death take her, although it was painful for her to do so. As her breath quickened and then slowed, her eyesight finally going blank, and all her memories returning to her in a timeline of her lifetime, she saw the young woman from her dreams, the supposed Clara Oswald, resuming the fall and for the first time hitting the ground before splitting the last of her echoes from her body. As she did, Victoria felt hers leave. And then she slipped away unto death.


End file.
